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The Nationalism and The sport of Postwar Japan : Focuses on Korean-Japanese wrestler Rikidozan

  • 日本硏究
  • 2014, (37), pp.323-343
  • Publisher : The Center for Japanese Studies
  • Research Area : Humanities > Japanese Language and Literature
  • Published : August 20, 2014

Cho, Jung-min 1

1부산대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes the relation of Japan's identity construction and sports culture after the war. The rhetoric which treats especially a Korean pro wrestler Rikidozan's body as representation of Japan was observed. This is performed in order to restore the masculinity lost by the America. However, it is inconsistency to build an identity of Japan through a Korean wrestler's body, and it is fabrication. The place where Japan can enjoy Rikidozan’s body was only a made-up stage called a ring. Japan considered that the game of Rikidozan is the representation of Japan-America waging war. It was considered that Japan was a victory of Japan about the victory of Rikidozan failing in accepting it. However, recovery and a victory of such the body are only the fabrication performed on the ring. And the fact that Rikidozan was a Korean was a taboo while Rikidozan was valid. It is because a symbol of Japan will also collapse after the war if the fact is clarified.　It was his postmortem that the life of Rikidozan began to become clear. Rikidozan was called after the war for Japan's identity construction, and actually produced the effect. But it was realized, after carrying a made-up genre called professional wrestling and sealing racial traits. Japan's Rikidozan interpretation tells the identity construction process of the most difficult Japan after the war.

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This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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